The Long Walk Home
by LOKness Monster
Summary: Avatar Korra loses someone near and dear to her, but most of her team is wrapped up in their own lives! Korra and her companion scour Republic City uncovering new and dangerous secrets! Who will assist the young Avatar on her journey? Will Korra remain composed long enough to accomplish her goal? Will the citizens of Republic City help or hinder her?
1. The Expedition

"Ugh, do we have to do this stupid press conference, Tenzin?" Avatar Korra bellowed with no small hint of antipathy.

"Yes, Korra. After leaving the spirit portals open, there are a lot of questions and the people of Republic City deserve to have answers. You owe the people that much since vines displaced a lot of people." Tenzin retorted authoritatively.

"Maybe I made the wrong decision by leaving the portals open." Korra said turning her gaze away from Tenzin and looking out over the bay separating Air Temple Island from Republic City.

Tenzin placed a gentle hand on Korra's shoulder. "listen Korra, I know the decision weighs heavily on you and I know you do not take it lightly, but that does not mean you have to punish yourself for it. Every decision you make will have those that oppose it. You have truly fulfilled the Avatar's purpose for the first time in ten thousand years by bringing true balance to the world. In time, the public will learn to be comfortable with these changes. Until then, remain confident in yourself and the people will in turn become confident because they trust in their Avatar."

"Hah no pressure then right?" Avatar Korra quipped with emotional inflection returning to her voice. "But thank you, Tenzin. You usually know how to make me feel better. However, I'm not any more excited about this press conference."

"Well actually that's normal. Not even the power of the Avatar can make press conferences better." Tenzin added unsuccessfully to make Korra crack a smile. "We better get going; we're due in front of City Hall in a half hour. Let's head down to the boat."

Korra started down the long rock staircase leading to the docks, and then a thought occurred to her. "You know what, I'm going to take Naga. Maybe riding will help clear my head for this thing. I'll meet you at City Hall soon."

"I understand, Korra. Just be careful on your way there." Tenzin said as he started toward the docks.

"Will do! I wouldn't want to get on Mother Nature's bad side!" Korra replied sarcastically. Tenzin simply rolled his eyes and continued walking.

Korra whirled her arms in a circular motion around herself and summoned an air scooter to make up time on her way to Naga on the other side of the island. _I really hope I can get my head on straight before I get bombarded with questions _Korra thought to herself. Ever since Korra was a young girl, Naga was the one thing she could consistently rely on. Naga never judged and never questioned, she was always there and supported Korra when she needed it, both mentally and physically. Ever since Naga tracked down Korra in the snowy forest after her and Amon's short battle, there wasn't a stronger bond between an animal and a person in the entire world. However, Bolin and Pabu was a close second.

A short time later, Korra zipped up to the little habitat that had been prepared for Naga and dissipated her air scooter. Naga immediately perked up and ran to give Korra a sloppy wet lick to show her love. "Hey girl, I'm sorry I haven't spent much time with you the past few weeks. Things have been really busy." Korra said as she wrapped her arms around the polar bear dog's neck but only reaching half way on account of Naga's large size. Naga gave another lick to Korra as if to say she was already forgiven, which elicited a light giggle from Korra.

"Okay Naga, we have to get to City Hall so I can tell those reporters what's what."

As if understanding perfectly, Naga lowered herself to the ground allowing Korra to climb on without the use of bending. Korra grabbed the straps attached to Naga's harness, and without a word Naga was at full sprint across the island toward Republic city. There was a huge amount of mutual trust between the two companions; as Naga neared a cliff overlooking the water, she took a flying leap trusting Korra to take care of the rest. As per usual, Korra used waterbending to secure an air bubble to make it across the bay, and Naga swam faithfully without rest. The two were a completely inseparable, in tune duo often acting as one.

Naga swiftly reached the bank on the opposite side of the bay and without delay was already at full speed down the busy streets of Republic City.

"That will be all! No more questions today!" Tenzin reacted quickly coming to Korra's rescue after she was inundated by even more questions without answers. The two of them ducked inside the building while Chief Lin Beifong handled the frenzied reporters wielding cumbersome boxes flashing bursts of white light.

"That could have gone better." Korra said aloud but wished she didn't.

"You answered all the questions you possibly could." Tenzin replied not withholding his mild frustration at how Korra was treated after what she went through to save the city. "Some things they will just have to figure out on their own." They took a few steps further into the grand lobby of City Hall then stopped. "That will hold them over for quite a while."

"I should hope so," Korra said bringing her hands to rest on her hips, "especially since I promised to find a solution within the next few weeks."

"And you will, Korra." Tenzin assured. "I have been there for your weakest and lowest moments," he said much to Korra's chagrin, "and yet I still have complete faith in you. What does that tell you?"

"I'm incredibly stubborn?" Korra replied, not really knowing the answer.

Tenzin opened his mouth to reply, but paused briefly. "Well that's true." He said avoiding the pointed look he earned from Korra. "BUT, that's not the point. The point is that, despite everything that has been thrown at you so far, you have persevered and gotten yourself back on your feet. So don't let a few numbskull reporters knock you down."

"Pfft if you ask me, you stepped in just in time because I was about to knock _them_ down with some well-placed airbending." Korra said, fully meaning every word.

"Ah, there's the confrontational Avatar Korra attitude I've been waiting to get back!" Tenzin answered throwing his arms up in semi-victory.

"Wait. I thought that _wasn't_ a good thing?" Korra replied raising an eyebrow to Tenzin.

"It's certainly better than the 'woe is me' Avatar Korra attitude as of late."

Korra did not read into it much, but rather headed for the side door out where Naga was waiting. The full hour of questions, which felt more like an interrogation, had worn Korra out and she was ready to simply retreat to Air Temple Island and turn in for the night. Tenzin caught the cue that she was done for the day, and followed Korra without protest, being rather tired of city politics himself.

Korra stepped out the door expecting a 'cheer up' lick from her best friend, but instead was greeted by an empty side street. "That's strange." Korra stated while throwing her gaze in every direction.

"What's strange?" Tenzin inquired, not noticing anything out of the ordinary.

"I left Naga right outside the door to wait, and she's not here." Korra said with mild anxiety creeping into her voice.

"I'm sure she's fine." Tenzin added, always being the calm voice of reason. "There are a lot of distractions in the city, and it's not exactly like an eight-hundred pound white polar bear dog can hide easily. She probably went home."

"You don't understand Tenzin!" Korra alleged to Tenzin with a pleading, almost distraught gaze. "Naga has _never_ done this! She isn't distracted easily. Remember your kids climbing all over her when she first got here? She wouldn't leave on her own."

Tenzin contemplated her statement for a moment whilst absentmindedly running his hand down his goatee, finding the truth in what the Avatar had said.

"Very well." Tenzin said at last. "I suggest we first head back to Air Temple Island so we can rule that out. The simplest solution often turns out to be the one that solves the problem."

Korra thought for a moment, and then realized her alternative was wandering aimlessly through the city with no one to help. Mako was attending a police training exercise somewhere outside of the city; Asami was on Future Industries business in Omashu; and Bolin was still completely caught up in making movers with Varrick and Korra did not want to tear Bolin away from what he loved by doing something she could handle just fine.

"Okay Tenzin, we do it your way. But it's going to be a long walk home"

After legging it all the way through the city desperately hoping Naga would appear, Korra arrived at the docks where a White Lotus member was manning the boat Tenzin arrived on.

Tenzin addressed the White Lotus guard, "Okra, did you see Naga pass by here at all?"

"No sir I didn't, I'm sorry." Okra responded simultaneously shaking his head in the negative.

Korra, visibly let down by the guards answer, added: "She could have swum across from anywhere. She might not necessarily return here. Let's hurry back to the island."

They clamored into the boat, and Okra navigated them away from the dock and took up a vector heading towards Korra's best hope of reuniting with her best friend from childhood. Not two minutes had passed and Korra was less than satisfied with the small boats progress across the bay. She stood up and roughly placed a hand on Okra's shoulder, "Mind if I take over?" Valuing his life, Okra did not deny the Avatar, but gestured the oars towards her to take over. She let out a slight smile at that thought, then passing up the oars she stepped past Okra to the front of the boat. Tenzin observed the exchange, and before he could give an answer to satisfy Okra's gaze of bewilderment, Avatar Korra took in a deep breath while holding her hands in front of her at chest level. She then promptly swung her arms in a half circle towards her feet ending with her arms pointing behind her. The motion rocketed the boat forward sending a flabbergasted Okra towards the back landing heavily on his keister on the floor between two seats. Pulling his white and blue head covering from over his eyes, "Oh yeah," he mused out loud, "Avatar and all." Tenzin could not hold back his smile, but he felt it was justified.

Their progress was much speedier after that. Reaching the dock and wasting no time, Korra leaped off the boat and conjured another air scooter to cover more ground. As she sped around she could be heard yelling "Naga! Naaaaagaaaaa! Are you here girl? We're home!" after several minutes searching the usual places, Korra fanned out her search across the island. She yelled and yelled, but to no avail. One of Korra's worst fears was materializing in front of her: her best friend had gone missing. And this time, she did not have all the resources of her friends to pool together. No car to drive and no police scanner to listen to. _Wait! That's it, the police! _ Korra thought to herself, suddenly being filled with a new motivation. Korra jumped on her air scooter and made for the docks once again.

"Korra! Stop! Where are you going?" Tenzin yelled to the Avatar as he caught her speeding away. Korra turned around and brought herself nearer to Tenzin.

"I'm going to ask Chief Beifong if she's seen Naga. That's another person Naga knows."

"Not tonight you're not." Tenzin protested but in a serious tone.

"What?! Why not? And you can't stop me!" Korra countered coming closer and closer to boiling over.

"Think about it Korra: some of Beifong's officers are off training the new recruits they need, half of the officers still here are dealing with the looting and other situations brought on by the vines, and now it's late. I'm sure there's only a skeleton crew at the station and they won't be much help tied up like they are. Tomorrow at first light, you and I will take Oogie and go see the chief personally. Deal?"

Korra stared intently at Tenzin intently with her fingers crumpled into tight fists. She was not mad at Tenzin, but mad at not being able to do anything at the moment while Naga is alone who knows where. She grunted deeply in anger and turned away, but stopped a few paces away. Tenzin knew that was the best he was getting from Korra as far as an understanding goes. Still, he watched Korra a moment longer to make sure. Korra recoiled her fist, and then threw it up into the air with a loud yell letting loose a large ball of fire upwards. The fire was bright and intense, and Tenzin could literally feel her anger and had to momentarily shield his eyes. Korra then sulked off to her room where she knew she would not get a wink of sleep.

Korra laid on her bed uncomfortably, her earlier assumption of no sleep fulfilling itself by the minute. She stared at the empty spot where Naga used to lay. Wetness began to form in the corner of Korra's eyes, but her stubbornness held back the tears. _Lying here crying won't bring Naga back, action will. _As much as it pained her to do nothing, Korra knew by now her situations fared much better when she heeded Tenzin's advice rather than go maverick across the city. The day's events finally came crashing down on Korra and exhaustion began working its way through her body. Her arms and legs became like anchors holding her to her bed, and her eyelids slowly made their way south, finally allowing Korra peace. Or so she thought.

Korra suddenly found herself wandering through the cold, unforgiving tundra of her Southern water Tribe heritage. The intense cold was bitterly threatening to break Korra's spirit, but she trudged on. A short time later she came across some fresh tracks in the snow. At the rate the wind was blowing, they could not have been more than twenty minutes old. Having no other choice, she followed the unidentified tracks hoping for solace from the storm. Finally, through a brief break of the whipping wind, Korra caught a glimpse of movement ahead of her, but could not make out its form. "H-hello?" she cried cautiously. The wind picked up again forcing Korra to bring her hands up to shield her face, nearly obscuring her view. A few paces later, Korra caught up to the disturbance that caught her eye a few moments earlier. It appeared to be a small white animal of some kind. Korra got closer and could finally discern the animal-a small polar bear dog. The animal caught sight of Korra, and started towards her. She attempted to flee the animal, but it was much more attuned to the deep snow than short little Korra was. The polar bear dog caught up to Korra stopping in front of her causing Korra to face plant in the snow. She picked her face up finding herself to be looking eye to eye with the wild beast she had heard stories told of regarding their fierceness and hunting ability. Korra began to cry out, but the small polar bear dog only licked Korra's face and attempted to cuddle up to Korra to share in the warmth. Though Korra was not very old at all, she could tell that this animal was as lost as she was. "Uh, hey there. Are you lost too?" The polar bear dog nuzzled up to young Korra further. "Well I come from a nearby village-or at least it's supposed to be nearby. I'm not sure where I am." As if on cue, the polar bear dog left Korra's side and walked a few steps. She raised her nose into the air after getting a good sniff of Korra, the stopped and stared in one direction with one front leg raised and bent. "Should I follow you then?" Korra took that as a yes when the polar bear dog took off, leading her to the village soon after.

Time skipped ahead to the night Korra planned to run away to Republic City. She saddled up Naga, who was willing to follow her master wherever she may lead. After getting to the city, Korra decided food was in order. She found out she was completely broke, and opted for what she knew best besides bending: fishing. Naga had caught enough fish for the two of them and a nearby resident of a lovely bush to be satisfied, before being ran off by a city beat cop. Korra again found herself transported elsewhere, this time to her room lying awake worrying about Mako and Bolin in prison no thanks to Tarrlok. She woke up Naga and made for the city police building. Upon arrival, she ordered Naga to stay put, to which Naga clearly did not want to do but obeyed nonetheless. Hours later, Naga had tracked Korra down buried in snow in the outskirts of the city, saving Korra's life again. Recurring scenarios of Naga's endless love and loyalty filled Korra's mind, up until she shot straight up in bed, fully awake.

She threw her covers off to look outside, seeing a slight shimmering of sunlight on the horizon signifying dawn. She quickly made herself presentable, dawning her favorite water tribe attire. Korra raced to the main hall where Tenzin slept, making no effort to be quiet. She opened the doors and to her surprise, she found Tenzin fully dressed and sipping tea. "I was wandering when you would get up." He said, then returning to his tea. "Let's get moving." Just the words Korra wanted to hear. She silently nodded and swiftly made her way to Oogie with Tenzin in tow. They boarded the large mammal, followed by Tenzin yelling "Yip Yip!" and then they were soaring towards police headquarters. Taking the VIP entrance on the roof, they wasted no time in getting to Chief Beifong. Without even bothering to knock, the Avatar burst into the office followed by "Chief, I have some very important questions"

"Excuse our entrance, Lin." Tenzin said in an effort to sway the chief's cooperation.

The Chief of Police was unperturbed by the Avatar's entrance, and was already willing to help since Korra restored Lin's bending, something she was ever grateful for.

"What is it kid? I haven't got all day to solve the city's problems and yours." She said with crossed arms, never dropping the tough cop routine.

"Naga went missing, and I'm hoping you know something that can help or if you've seen her?" Korra quickly interjected, nearly cutting the chief off.

"I'm sorry Korra, but I haven't seen her by herself recently."

"Ugh! Where in Hei Bai's name could she be?!" Korra said punching the wall behind her.

"This could possibly coincide with new reports I've been getting, but by no means is anything definitive." The chief uttered in a calm, collected tone.

"What? What's been going on?"

"Are you sure you wanna hear this kid? It's only going to upset you, and I can't guarantee these things are related."

"Of course I want to know! Naga has never let me down once and I'm not about to do that to her!" Korra declared with fire in her voice.

The chief considered Korra for a moment, bringing her hand to her chin. After seeing the Avatar's reply, she answered: "Very well. As you are aware, after Amon took Lightning Bolt Zolt's bending, his underling, Viper, usurped the position as triad leader. Then a new name surfaced, supposedly a right hand man to Viper. He's known as Amauri 'Machete' Serrata, and apparently had an idea for income for the Triple Threats that Viper found intriguing: exotic animal trafficking and fighting.

"WHAT?! Animal trafficking?!" Korra could not believe what she was hearing. "Let's go kick down his front door!"

"Woah not so fast there, kiddo. There's a reason I haven't done that already: there's no proof. I'm only working off of reports of sightings of animals not from around here like wolfbats and platypus bears, and the surfacing of this name. Short of a full confession this second, any case I cobble together won't be remotely strong enough for a conviction. No one has ever seen Amauri, and the triads aren't talkative. My forces are spread too thin. But to someone not bound by red tape bureaucracy…" Lin trailed off looking at Korra. "Look, I'll offer all the help I can, but I have real tangible problems to take care of right now. I would start by doing a stakeout of a shop where Viper collects his 'protection payments', then tailing them back to whatever hole they're in now. That might lead you to the underground betting ring, if it actually exists."

"Fine. I can work with that for now." Korra offered up, matching the chief's crossed arms.

"Korra, slow down. Are you sure you have the patience for a stakeout, and the self-control to tail someone unnoticed?" Tenzin asked seriously.

Lin cut in: "Yeah kid, you're not exactly Mrs. Sleuth. You can't go guns blazing into this. If the triads find out you're gunning for them, they'll clear everything out faster than you can say Moo-Chee-Goo-Chee-La-Poo-Chee the Third. And if they do have Naga, they'll smuggle her out of the city and you may never see her again. Tread carefully. They've been at this game a lot longer than you."

"Yeah yeah. Stealth, patience, and all that. Just call me 'Detective Korra'. Let's knock some triad heads."

Tenzin and Lin locked gazes for a moment, wordlessly passing the gravity of the situation to each other. "Always a pleasure, Lin. Thank you for your assistance."

Chief Beifong simply nodded in affirmation, following up with: "Good luck you two."

Back onto the roof with Oogie, Korra considered the look on Tenzin's face. "What are you thinking?" She asked, not missing the classic Tenzin pose when he was working details out in his head.

"I'm trying to decide the best place to stakeout, as in where we're most likely to find some triads. When I was on the city council, I put a lot of time into taking down the triads, but no one wanted to touch them. Even the owners of the businesses the triads vandalized protected them, fearing the triads more than having faith in the police force. Not that I blame them, it's also no fault of Lin's, she can only do so much even as chief. First things first, we need less suspicious clothing to blend in, and we can't use Oogie, otherwise we might as well put up flyers for Amauri."

Korra adopted her own contemplative pose. "I've got it!" Her face lit up as she snapped her fingers. "Like you said, we need new clothes, so let's start with that. Afterwards, we'll make our way into one of the shops and see if we can overhear or get info some other way from the shop owners on when and where the triads will hit. Then we follow the triads from there as they make their rounds."

"Very nice, Korra. I'm impressed, and I think that is an excellent plan of action." Tenzin agreed readily. "First stop, new threads!" He glanced at Korra to see the seemingly emotionless look she held at him. "What? Too much blending?" Korra rolled her eyes and turned away to use airbending to make her way to the street.

Outfitted with new 'threads' of the far more plain variety, the sleuthing duo made their way to one of the shop districts of Republic City. Korra wore clothing not unlike what she wore to Amon's first equalist rally for his 'revelation'. Tenzin sported equally plain street clothes, as well as sunglasses and a hat to conceal his tattoos denoting him as an airbending master. The streets were mildly busy, but had light foot traffic despite the lovely weather. This tipped off Tenzin that the citizens that lived nearby were expecting a good reason to stay off the street. Tenzin and Korra approached a shop, seemingly selling antiquities and hand fashioned furniture. "Okay Korra, here's the plan: we're going to into that shop straight ahead. You stay by the front window and feign to be interested in whatever is there, but keep an eye out for triads. I'm going to converse with the shopkeeper and see what I can learn. Got it?"

"That's an affirmative, Bald Eagle." Korra laughed to herself at her witty codename for Tenzin, who was unsurprisingly not amused.

Tenzin opened the door to the shop rather abruptly, causing a very audible 'ding' from the hanging bell. This was enough to startle the shop keeper who was busy stocking and arranging shelves. The shopkeeper quickly composed himself, breaking the silence with: "Good morning sir and madam, can I help you with anything today?" he said with clear trepidation in his voice.

Tenzin answered nonchalantly, "No thanks. We're just out enjoying the day and browsing the shops"

Korra continued to follow the plan and stayed by the front window, frequently scanning the scene in front of her. Tenzin continued with the shopkeeper, "You know, for such a nice day, there doesn't seem to be a lot of people out today."

The shopkeeper kept to his work, trying not to show his nerves but answered, "Yeah, funny thing that is. I don't mind the peace and quiet though y'know? Some people enjoy the alone time." Obviously trying to pass a message but it did not distract Tenzin.

"I hope that doesn't affect your business or anything." Tenzin pried a little.

"Well I get by y'know? I don't mind a modest life or nothin'. Best a man not live above his means anyhow."

Just as Tenzin was about to continue his investigative questions, Korra very un-detective like coughed and cleared her throat, indicating something that required Tenzin's attention. Tenzin nodded to the shopkeeper as a thank you for the conversation, which he returned with a forced smile. Tenzin made his way to the front of the shop beside Korra, keeping his eyes surveying the street outside.

"Across the street, five or six buildings down. A very triad-looking vehicle pulled up and some ruffians got out. I think I recognized Shady Shin." Korra relayed to Tenzin.

"Did you recognize anyone else?" Tenzin questioned.

"No I Didn't. It's not the usual crew. These guys are just the lowest of the low. The others must be off doing something else." This brought unwelcome thoughts to Korra's mind of Naga being alone and fending for herself, or even fighting in some cesspool of a betting ring. This quickly brought Korra's blood to a boil and she unconsciously made a move for the door but she was stayed by a firm hand from Tenzin. They gazed at each other and she read everything she needed to hear in his look: now is not the right time. They both fell silent as they observed the scene unfolding across the street. They were out of earshot, but Korra did not need to be there to know what was being said. It was obvious the hooligans of very ill-repute were extorting the shopkeeper for his hard earned Yuans. Infuriating. After the exchange which lasted only a few minutes, the punks climbed into their crime-mobile and started down the street. Korra could not wait any longer and made for the door, this time evading Tenzin's reach.

"Korra wait!" He pleaded, but his words fell on deaf ears, or, at least un-caring ears, and Korra left the shop giving the small bell another violent ding.

Tenzin was hot on her trail, and was right behind her as she stepped onto the sidewalk. To her surprise, the triad vehicle had stopped only two shops down. Korra reacted quickly and faced toward the street, pulling her hat down over her head more in an effort to conceal her identity. Thinking quickly, Tenzin beckoned her to the alleyway directly adjacent to the shop they previously occupied but in the opposite direction of the Triple Threats. Korra waited as close to the corner as possible, this time well within earshot. She could also see a little bit of what was going on through the reflection in the windows of the shops across the street. She calmed her heart rate and listened to the exchange.

"It's time for your monthly payment, old man." One of the unidentified slime balls piped up while pushing the older gentleman into the doorway.

"Please!" he pleaded. "I don't have all of it this month! My children and grandchildren lost their home to these vines and I put them up in a hotel!"

"I don't want your pitiful excuses!" slime ball number two yelled, pushing the old man back causing him to lose his footing and toppling on a small wooden table, breaking it.

"We have to do something, Tenzin!" Korra said in a high whisper. Korra took no small part of blame upon herself for this man's misery, since her failure was a direct catalyst to these wretched vines.

"We can't and you know it! If we reveal ourselves early, we'll never get the info we need to stop all of this!" This seemed to satisfy Korra for the moment, though she was on the verge of splitting some skulls with earthbending.

"Now now, fellas," Shady Shin finally spoke up. "If you break everything, this gentleman won't have anything with which to make his future payments." Shady Shin crouched down beside the man, putting his hand on the man's chin to turn his gaze towards Shady Shin.

"You see here, my associates, want to break everything in this place, but I'm here to help. Open up your safe and we'll take what's ours, plus a little extra to compensate for our time wasted here."

The man looked at Shady Shin, wrinkling his face in pain. Only a few moments passed and the man began, "4…"

Shin made a silent motion with his head to one of his cronies towards the counter. The other Triple Threat wasted no time sliding across the counter, consequently sending a small glass figurine crashing to the floor turning the beautiful piece into nothing more than a symbol of shattered hopes and dreams for the old man.

"8-15-16" the man huffed slowly, gasping for air as the pain in his back intensified. "23-42" the man finished. Upon hearing the tumblers unlock, Shady Shin released the man's head allowing it to hit the ground with a small thump. The Triple Threats collected several stacks of Yuons from the safe before filing out of the shop.

"Thank you for your…understanding." Shady Shin said with a wicked smile across his face. "Oh, and here's for your troubles." Shady Shin continued, tossing a single silver piece onto the man's chest that still lay on the ground in pain. The Triple Threats climbed into their signature red and gold satomobile, and sped off leaving a cloud of dust.

"We have to move quickly so we don't lose them!" Tenzin bellowed as he ran by Korra.

Korra followed Tenzin but she stopped in her tracks and saw the man still in agonizing pain. "Korra I know you want to do the right thing, and believe me this isn't easy for me either, but we need to follow that satomobile."

"You would turn your back on your own citizens?!" Korra yelled, instantly regretting her choice of words.

"No! I absolutely do not want to! My father built this city from the ground up with a vision of balance and prosperity! He would probably be in the Avatar State over this! But in order to stop this from happening to others, we have to make hard decisions! They will pay for what they've done today!"

Korra sobered up at Tenzin's sudden change of character. "Tenzin, I'm… I didn't mean…"

"I know, Korra. We need to go." After that Korra and Tenzin were in full sprint down the sidewalk. "Up here, Korra." Tenzin said taking an airbender leap to the top of the building. Korra followed suit, impressed by Tenzin's agility and dexterity at his…advanced age. They could easily follow the roar of the modified satomobile through the city. After giving chase down a few city blocks, they spotted the triad vehicle parked along the street and positioned themselves on the roof directly across from the restaurant the triads entered.

_A/N Hey guys and gals! Thank you for reading this far! I decided to upload this in two parts, mainly because I'm excited to see what kind of reception this will get. So, if you have a few extra minutes, drop me a couple lines on your impression of the story whether it's good, bad, or better than the collective works of Shakespeare. My plan is to have the rest of the story uploaded within 48 hours, so we'll see if I can keep to that. If this story gets a good reception, I have something far more extensive in the works that I will discuss at a later date. For now, I hope you enjoyed my first official LOK fanfic!_


	2. The Extraction

"What's taking so long?" Korra finally uttered after almost an hour of triad-watching. She guessed it was around noon.

"They're probably eating. Remember that 'patience' thing we talked about? Now is when it counts. Stay on alert."

Korra silently acknowledged his words. Not long thereafter, the same three triad slime balls exited the restaurant. "Phew!" slime ball number one said while rubbing his stomach."They say crime doesn't pay, but it sure makes me hungry!" he finished. The silence was quickly broken by a dramatic "Oof! Hey what gives?" he looked angrily at Shady Shin who had given him a smack on the back of his head.

"Shuddup you bafoon. Not while we're on the street."

"Sorry, boss." He griped.

"Not yet you're not. Do you wanna take a visit to Machete?" Those words seemed to hold some meaning as the Triple Threat stood straight up with widened eyes.

"uh, n-no sir." He managed to squeak out.

"Good. Now let's move out. We have one more errand to run." Shady Shin commanded.

Korra and Tenzin looked at each other. This was the first confirmation that this 'Machete' character actually existed, and the mere mention of his name scared a Triple Threat Triad member senseless.

The Triple Threats embarked their one-of-a-kind vehicle, and headed down the street once again. "Alright, it's time for this to end. I want answers and I want them soon." Korra growled as she took off once again nimbly navigating the rooftops via airbending with Tenzin close behind.  
>Once again the trip was short, ending with the triad vehicle pulling into a side street between twin two story buildings. This time only Shady Shin left the vehicle, entering the building on the driver's side through a side door, only to return a few minutes later with a wooden crate in his hands.<p>

"Hurry up you idiots!" Shady Shin shouted at his compatriots. Moving quickly, one of them got out and ran to the back of the vehicle and opened up the trunk for Shady Shin, who dropped the crate in just as he was beginning to lose his grip. He slammed the trunk lid closed and entered the driver seat followed by the other triad climbing in the back seat, and they were off as soon as they had come, still unaware of the two entities following them with hearts dead set on justice. Or, at least, _someone's _version of justice somewhere.

Their final drive was slightly longer than the first two, bringing the trio of Triple Threats to the industrial district of Republic City. If anything, Korra could say Shady Shin knew what he was doing because he cruised around the district aimlessly for twenty minutes to ensure they were not followed, but Korra was determined and at her wits end with these low-life thugs who took advantage.

Finally after making several rounds, Korra and Tenzin watched the Satomobile pull up to a small garage door that led to an extension of what was apparently a much larger warehouse. Shady Shin beeped twice, followed by a short pause, and then beeped again. A few seconds passed and the door rolled up allowing the vehicle to enter, then closing immediately behind it.

From her elevated position, Korra was unable to see inside the door. "This has to be it." She said excitedly, looking at Tenzin. "We have to get in there!" Korra remembered Tenzin's words from a short time earlier, and stopped herself from rushing in. Instead, she carefully analyzed the outside of the warehouse, followed by a "hmmm…."

"I'm glad you see it too" Tenzin added, pleased at Korra's restraint this time around. "There are supposed to be skylights and windows, but they seem to be barred on the outside, and plated metal is welded on the inside. The Triads turned this building into a fortress."

"That makes sense." Korra said shifting her expression further into that of hard concentration. "If you were having animals abducted from all over the world, you wouldn't want anyone to be able to just peep in. There could be other people's pets in there, like Naga."

"We should head back to the police station and get Chief Beifong. She could metal bend us right into that place." Tenzin strongly suggested.

"There's no time for that. She's all the way on the other side of the city! Naga needs me now!" Korra yelled getting to her feet from her prone position.

"Korra, there is no way in, and who knows how many triads there are, or even if Na-" Tenzin tried pleading with the Avatar, but she was already to her feet and leaped towards the ground, softening her landing with airbending.

"Korra looked at the ground for a moment, "There might not be a way in_ up here_." Korra said menacingly, throwing the fist of one hand into the open palm of the other. She then threw her fingers and arms outstretched towards the ground underneath her and quickly made a parting motion, opening a hole in the ground. She allowed herself to fall several feet underground before stopping.  
>Tenzin, knowing arguing was futile, reluctantly followed down the hole with Korra.<br>Once they were both underground, Korra closed the hole above them leaving the duo in perfect darkness for an instant before Korra lit a flame in one of her hands. She then took an aggressive earthbending stance, and step by step she threw her free hand in front of her, lengthening her tunnel. She was very careful to count her steps and maintain a straight line.  
>Tenzin looked on, impressed by the multitasking ability of the fully realized Avatar in front of him, but now was not the time to bring anything like that up while Korra was concentrating, so he followed on silently.<p>

After several minutes of digging, Korra came to a stop and placed a hand on the earth above her. She could feel slight vibrations coming through the rocks. Something was definitely going on. "The triads might have reinforced the walls, doors, and windows, but I think it's pretty unlikely anyone thought the add anything to the floors. This is our best chance." And with that, Korra extinguished her flame allowing her the use of both hands, took an earthbending stance, and thrust her arms above her head leading with angry fists.

With a great rumble, the earth above her rose violently and the dark pit they were in was suddenly filled with light. She took a flying leap upwards and landed on the surface above. After her eyes quickly adjusted to the bright white light, she gathered her bearings. _Great _she thought to herself sarcastically. She had brought them up inside the large cage in the center of the warehouse that was used to contain the fighting animals. The loud cheering had suddenly ceased and there was an eerie silence.

"Avatar Korra, welcome to our humble sports arena." A man said in a gravelly voice whilst leaning over the railing of a raised platform to one side of the large warehouse. He sported simple clothes so as not to draw attention to him, but clearly had a commanding presence due in no small part to his very visible rippling muscles and the duel machetes sported.

"Hah, that figures!" Korra said enthusiastically focusing her attention on the man she presumed to be Amauri. "It's good to see mobsters haven't lost their clichés since we all faced the near destruction of the world."

Amauri raised a brow at her statement. He was not used to people speaking so freely in his imposing presence, and took offense to just that.

"Well, since you're here, you might as well join in on the entertainment, Avatar." Amauri said holding his arms out gesturing to the fight cage.

"Korra, look out!" Tenzin had shouted in an attempt to get her attention. The stunned boar-q-pine and platypus bear that were fighting prior to Korra's entrance had both taken up a charge at Korra.

Korra reacted rapidly, performing a backflip up into the air while swiping her arm in the direction of the boar-q-pine while Tenzin blasted air from his palms at the platypus bear. Both animals were blasted back with airbending and Korra landed gracefully on her feet, taking a firebending stance with her back to back with Master Tenzin.

"Make things a little more…interesting." Amauri spoke to the triad nearest him. The triad received Amauri's message, making his way to a lever just outside the cage. The triad pulled the lever, opening the swinging doors that made up one of two exits to the cage. But before Korra could make a move, a tigerdillo and two more mean looking boar-q-pines had charged through.

All the excitement had gotten the crowd roaring again, and Amauri smiled to himself as he could practically smell the money pouring in. What Amauri did not count on, however, was Korra getting a glimpse of Naga as the heavy metal doors swung open.  
>Korra glanced over and saw Naga lying motionless against a far wall covered in cuts, scrapes, and large spots of her pure white fur stained with blood, some hers and some not. Korra's eyes widened and her heart sank as she took in the sight a split second before a raging boar-q-pine sent her sliding across the dirt floor. Korra had not heard Tenzin's calls to evade, and he could not fend off all the animals at once.<p>

"And you call yourself the great Avatar." Amauri said with a huff and rolling his eyes. Unfortunately for him, he did not yet have knowledge of whom the large polar bear dog belonged to. Not yet.

Korra brought herself to her hands and knees with her eyes squeezed in pain, but when she opened her eyes, they were aglow with a bright white light. Instantly, she lifted off the ground surrounded by a whirlwind, and the animals fled the cage. There was an audible gasp across the audience, and Amauri stood in amazement.

"Triple Threats, neutralize the Avatar!" Amauri decreed. Collectively, the half dozen or so firebending triads let loose a torrent of flames from all directions, meeting at the Avatar. Korra created a ball of fire that completely enveloped her, effectively absorbing the onslaught. A moment later, she directed the barrier outward and it expanded rapidly. It formed a small gap to pass around Tenzin, but continued on to just outside the cage, enough to stun the firebending triads and cause them to draw back.

With more deft arm movements, Korra channeled Avatar Aang's metalbending and ripped apart the cage into small segments, then aiming the small pieces outward. Amauri's eyes widened, and he drew his duel machetes. Korra flicked her wrists, propelling the small partitions of metal swiftly through the air. Most of the pieces of metal pinned the firebenders who had revealed themselves down on the ground piercing their clothing. Some were aimed at Amauri, but not to pierce his clothing; Avatar Korra wanted him to feel the pain he was responsible for inflicting upon Naga.

But Amauri 'Machete' Serrata did not earn his nickname for no reason. He was extraordinarily swift and skilled with his weapons of choice, and deflected the metal intent on maiming him. The other triad members erected earth walls, and the waterbenders shielded themselves with ice to defeat the metal projectiles. Korra dissipated her whirlwind and came back to earth. A few earthbending triads stomped the ground, raising a large boulder, then sent it barreling toward Korra. She responded by igniting her fists and punching through the boulders turning them into pebbles, then sent quick jabs and kicks at the now defenseless attackers taking them down for the count.

Amauri became disgusted with this performance, and channeled his firebending through his apparently high quality machetes, and leaped down to Korra, charging head on. Tenzin was then busy evading and defending against the remaining hostile earth and water benders.

Korra sent more jabs and a low spinning kick at Amauri but he was speedy and evaded the attacks quickly closing the distance between him and Korra, whose eyes was still bright white.

Serrata was now close enough to hack and slash at Korra, but his blades met only air, as she was equally fast. She did a quick spin going low and extending her leg aiming to take out the Machete's legs. He jumped over her leg, but she finished her spin before Amauri landed and Korra once again ignited her fist and launched it at Serrata and landed it squarely in his chest with an explosive punch. The concussive force threw Amauri back a considerable distance, wresting both machetes from his grip. Amauri landed with a dramatic thump on his back and slid a short distance.

Amauri glared upwards to see his machetes spiraling back to earth. He rolled left to avoid a fireblast from Korra, and quickly got his feet. One machete landed point-down exactly where his head had landed, the other machete he caught. By now Korra launched more attacks via earthbending. Amauri charged his machete with fire once again and slashed apart the rocks. He nabbed his other machete and began swirling movements with his arms.  
>Suddenly a flash of blue energy had appeared betwixt his machetes, and a few seconds later, he leveled his right arm with machete still in hand, guiding the lightning to Korra's heart.<p>

Avatar Aang's spirit was still guiding her, and she stretched out her arm and met the lightning head on. With her other hand, she created a path for the lightning to follow, tracing her arm, down to her stomach, then up her shoulder blade and out the fingertips of her other arm. The lightning had found its way back to Amauri, not losing any of its lethal intent he had originally meant for Korra.

The dust had settled, and Avatar Korra was back to normal as Raava's spirit found no more danger. Tenzin handled the other triads masterfully, as expected; leaving them incapacitated and ready for arrest by Republic City's finest.

"Are you okay?" Korra asked Tenzin in a low worn out voice.

"I'm fine, nothing that can't be dealt with later. Go see to Naga, I'll find a phone somewhere and inform the chief of what's happened."

Korra nodded understandingly, and squandered no time getting to Naga. Korra pulled water from a nearby sink, and guided it around her hands to heal Naga's wounds.

"Naga, are you with me, girl? Everything is over now." Korra said tenderly, using her waterbending to ease Naga's pain. Upon closer inspection, Naga's wounds were not as severe as they appeared from afar, it seemed most, not some, of the blood on her white coat was from other animals or possibly from whoever abducted her. After a few moments, Naga began to stir, and Korra surmised her lack of motion was due to being sedated by her captors due to her fighting spirit. The thought almost brought a smile to Korra's face.

Naga lifted her head and began to growl ferociously before she realized who's gentle hands were working their way over her sore body. Her angst and fear turned into love and joy as she wagged her tail and gave Korra a lick that was noticeably less sloppy than ever before.

"Let's get you some water." Korra said. She quickly got up and fetched a wooden bowl the other animals drank out of, and filled it with clean water from the sink and placed it in front of Naga. The large animal was clearly thirsty as she gulped down the water in no time.  
>Satisfied Naga would be fine, Korra lifted her head and looked around the section of the warehouse she found herself in. There were cages upon cages of various animals, most not without wounds from fighting each other. It broke Korra's heart to take in the sight, and could not believe what disgusting human being would force this life on an innocent animal. She took solace in the fact that they would soon be returned to their natural habitat, and life would carry on.<p>

The sound of whirring propellers had filled the air, and Korra knew Tenzin made good on his word. Chief Beifong arrived with a full complement of officers, and began arresting the out of action triads. The chief swooped down after opening a hole in the roof with metalbending,, and met Korra on the ground.

"I see you accomplished your mission, Avatar." Lin said, not holding back her show of appreciation and gladness at Korra's well-being.

"We certainly did." Korra said proudly, enjoying the moments when Lin was not overly grumpy and showed respect for Korra's skill. "I don't think you'll have to worry about animal trafficking anymore."

"I suspect not. And Korra, Tenzin told me what had to be done, I'm sorry. No one should have to do what you did, but he was going to take your life had you not defended yourself. The city is a safer place. Most of these other dirtbags will learn their lesson in jail. The others will simply just come back until they do. But Amauri, from what I've gathered, was a fanatical man and the world is better off."

"Thanks, Chief. That means a lot." Korra said genuinely.

By now Tenzin had made his way over to Korra. She faced the airbending master and he put a soft hand on her shoulder. "Will you be all right, Korra?" If you need to talk at all, about anything, I'm always here for you, I promise."

"Thanks, Tenzin." She replied with a smile. "I think I'll be okay for now. Thank you for staying with me today, I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"I didn't do it for the reward, Korra. I just ask that you believe in yourself, and know that you will always have family at your back, whether it's me, Bolin, Chief Beifong, or a fiercely loyal eight hundred pound polar bear dog. And one more thing, after today's events, why don't we see about getting you an air glider?"

Korra smiled fondly at the thought, but turned her gaze to Naga. "I'm in no hurry; I can get around just fine."

The End.

_A/N: Thank you again for reading, ladies and gentleman! I hope you enjoyed this quick story I drummed up. Now, for my other project, it is still in the early stages of planning and drafting. It will include mostly OC's, with appearances from the Krew as well. I have no kind of release date, but it will require extensively more planning and thought than this story did, so unfortunately it may be slow a heads up for anyone who enjoyed my writing style from the above story. _

_Also, a special thank you to HugorHill for following this story, and FireLordDanny for the follow and favorite! Being able to see the support really makes the writing process easier.  
>Again, if you enjoyed my story, please leave your criticisms and thoughts! Anything I can improve on now will only help later. I may write more shorter stories later on, but who knows. For now, I hope everyone enjoys their Friday!<em>


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